In the early 1960s, Ray Syufy, owner of a chain of Bay Area movie theaters, hired architect Vincent G. Raney for the design of a futuristic dome theater in suburban San Jose. Syufy introduced Raney to the folks at Cinerama in New York who, in turn, shared with him the plans for a Cinerama dome theater. Loosely based on the Cinerama plans, Raney designed the first Century dome.

San Jose's Century 21 Theatre opened in 1964, the mothership in a series of Vincent Raney-designed dome theaters that would grace the Bay Area roadside in the 1960s. Although the Century 21 was originally designed for presenting films using the 3-strip Cinerama process, movies were actually shown using 70mm film. The theater was built to operate, and continues to function, as a one-screen venue, with accommodations for approximately 950 patrons.

Ad for the Grand Opening of the Century 22 in Sacramento, Sacramento Bee, Sunday, June 16, 1968, p. C7. Research credit: Gretchen Steinberg of SacMod

Differing from the domes that would follow, the Century 21 was constructed almost entirely of concrete and it has a larger lobby area. The lobby entrance is marked by large glass windows and doors. A wooden canopy, adorned with a whimsical brickabrac motif, shelters theater-goers as they await entry. The projection booth, like the majority of the theater, was built using concrete.

In addition to the Century 21 in San Jose being the very FIRST Century dome, the theater is an excellent example of “Googie” architecture. Indeed, not only does the dome’s innovative design reflect the general optimism characteristic of the space-age, the name “Century 21” was chosen to evoke the promise of the future.

Photos:
Century 21 Theater in San Jose; photo credit Heather David
Century theaters marquee; Heather David
Ad for the Grand Opening of the Century 22 in Sacramento, ad appeared in the Sacramento Bee, Sunday June 16, 1968, p. C7. Research credit: Gretchen Steinberg of SacMod

The Century 21 Theater occupies a 2.44-acre parcel within the larger Century Theater complex at S. Winchester Boulevard and Olsen Drive in San José. The one-story, concrete-block and steel-frame theater, built in 1964 by theater chain owner Raymond Syufy, is one of the first dome-type theaters constructed for the Cinerama-type projection method in the Bay Area. It was designed by architect Vincent G. Raney, who based his simplified design on the Buckminster Fuller-inspired Cinerama Dome in Hollywood. The Century 21 Theater became a model for many of Syufy’s later Century Theaters constructed throughout California during the 1960s and early 1970s. The Century 21 Theater is one of San José’s best-preserved examples of popular “Space Age” modernism. Today the building is threatened with demolition and redevelopment.

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